


Father's Homecoming

by TheNightWatcher



Category: End Roll (Video Game)
Genre: Advice, Coming Out, Community: lgbtfest, Dream World, Emotional Baggage, Family Issues, Father's Day, LGBTQ Female Character of Color, Minor End Roll spoilers, Past Child Abuse, Self Insert Weekend, Self-Insert, Therapeutic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:34:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24802405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNightWatcher/pseuds/TheNightWatcher
Summary: I look for a limited-time informer with the intention of conversation.I find him by chance, and invites me inside for a little drink.
Relationships: Informant & OC
Kudos: 3





	Father's Homecoming

Books have a peculiar smell to any sensitive nose of detail. The scent is strong enough to inflict the taste of paper, diluting from the vision of overwhelming blue tiles and walls.

Not even the citric in a casual cup could drown the stench of knowledge, print, and ink.

"I don't understand why you don't have tea in this place." I point out, swishing the liquid with a flick of a finger. Emerald eyes peer back in my direction with amused challenge. "Your love for orange juice is awfully unhealthy. Get some ginger ale." Taking a sip proved the juice to be lukewarm.

Gross.

"It's not as if I can go shopping." The shopkeeper supplies 'helpfully', mouth forever curved upwards. He's far younger than I was, youth lacking the bags under eyes. "And the only resident who could sell tea isn't on my best terms." The blond gestures to his supply of books. "Now then, I believe you know how this goes." A shop for peculiar issues. The store with an aware informer.

"Yes. A trade for a trade on information. Honestly, I just need advice. Or at least, an outsider's perspective." Nervous ticks are a bit bothersome. Brown fingers hideaway into pants pockets as the other's vicious green hues don't budge. "I'll offer a few facts of my own if you agree."

Informant hums. "Go on. I'm fairly interested in how a _Lucid Dreamer_ got here, but I'm also curious about your plight." He didn't lean closer as the blond sat in a chair. Informant doesn't move but the air around him resembles a bear trap. He was waiting, simply holding his patience with a sip of orange juice.

What an insensitive brat.

"Father's Day is coming up." The words trounce forward with a cut high-pitched end.

Informant pauses. Discomfort flares into bone as I watch those lethal emeralds shimmer in thought. "And I'm assuming your father isn't a good person? If you came so far for this," He smiles with judged intent. "I'm certain he's likely a vile thing." He offers those pretty words with smooth precision.

"He is," Mumbling, as my throat seems to malfunction. "I hate him."

What I despise the most about this informative storekeeper, is his level of observance. Answering his questions are lethal to the heart, brutal for honest and genuine answers.

Informant twirls a finger around the rim of his shot-cup. He still doesn't look away, the pressure never leaving.

"Do you?" He simply questions, and there isn't a hint of doubt in his tone.

"No." Brutal honesty is _my_ specialty. Regardless of how I feel. Regardless of how my insides are tangling up. "But I want to. So I dislike him. Is that wrong of me?" No one else seems to be able to answer this. "He expects," There's no need to cough and gag. "He expects a phone call and an 'I love you.' I don't want to do that. I don't like _him."_ The words have formed without further question.

_What should I do?_

"I'll tell you a secret." Informant replies.

"I don't want to hear it." I rasp, and Informant only smiles with a pinch of glee.

"Abusive, toxic, utter garbage parents," Informant continues as if I never spoke, as if outward emotion and tact didn't matter to him. Perhaps, it never did. "Almost always find a place in a child's heart." He taps the blue tap with little vibration. "And most can't help themselves. A small part wants to love, to understand...Regardless if it's good for them or not. It's a curse. One you'll have to deal with." Informant's eyes are ruthless. Those emerald-greens are deadly enough to cut.

"Mother's Day has the same effect on others. Not all of us have good moms." He provides as a side note. "In fact, some mothers never give you the time of day for a single…" Informant lightly coughs into his hand. "What I'm saying, is you'll find your situation isn't unique, but a fairly complex issue. You don't _have_ to give in to his pressure." Informant nods along. "But you're afraid of him, aren't you?"

There's not an ounce of ginger ale that can force my answer.

"I'm going to completely disown him once I can stand on my two feet." Is what I declare instead, and that's the truth.

The shopkeeper doesn't reply.

"Do you doubt me? Going against my parent?" The sneer is natural, nails tapping the table in wait. The bubbling heat dances and legs cross to hold it together. "My 'Father' once said he'd disown me for being gay. I don't remember how the topic came up. He was yelling, we were alone, and frick, I was scared. My heart hurt and I thought death was certain." Paper. Books. Reading. A peaceful calm settles over the insatiable heat.

"I thought: this is it. This is where I die. But then I realized, why should I react over something I accepted about myself long ago?"

The prolonged silence is pleasant.

"I told him to do it. That shut him up, believe it or not." Snickering broke through. The captured heat escalates without warning, feet tap, hands tremble, and a full-cackle of laughter spills. "That was the best expression I've seen on him in years! I wanna see it again," And again, and perhaps one _last time._ "The perfect last memory of him, that is what I want."

Damn Father's Day. The day people post their love for Fathers and how good they were. Are they ignorant of the fact not _every_ father fits the bill? How many times must someone tell me to visit and hug my father _because_ he's my father?

"Why _did_ you come here? Of all places to go?" Informant cuts in, and I limply grin. His smiling form doesn't change but I lean forward with an arm on the table and a leg flopping off the chair.

"As an abused child to another, I thought this was the best place for sympathy. Am I wrong?"

Informant doesn't dignify that with an answer. Good for him. Instead, he opens his mouth with a careful squint. "If you're looking for advice, this may seem mediocre at best for a dreamer such as you." He still doesn't look away but his posture is off. Had he registered my behavior as a threat? Or had I managed to pinch a nerve?

I smile. "No need. I think...I found my answer."

Informant takes a long sip of his drink. "Care to humor me?"

"Sure," There was no harm, and I was given a lot to think about. A worthy visit. "I'll be sending him a text instead. You never know someone's true intentions behind those. Do I mean it? Do I not? He can believe what he wants." I rest my head on the table. "The fact is, I don't want him to control my life, not even for a single day." And other people shouldn't either. "So what if there's a day dedicated to him? All he's getting is a text,"

I snap fingers, taking pride in the mirth flicking in Informant's steady hues. "And what I'm gonna get, is a slurpee for a day just for me."

**Author's Note:**

> Hello. If there's anyone reading this with a similar situation, you deserve better and are worth more than what others tell you.
> 
> Family can be toxic too. Fathers. Mothers. Even siblings, aunts, uncles...You can cut them off, or severely limit contact with them. Either way, it's your move. Good luck.
> 
> ...Happy 'Me' Day.


End file.
